Essay on The Use of Dialect in the Jumping Frog of Calavares County

Throughout Life On The Mississippi and The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County the authors show many instances of how the authors wanted things in literature to be perceived as how they really were instead of being described as how they made someone feel or being dark about their description. While reading Life On The Mississippi Twain talks about how the captain of the boat was describing mile marker on the river and he says “they all looked about alike to me; they were monotonously unpicturesque.” (Twain 2). This quote shows that the captain was describing these objects as they were meaningful to himself as Twain just saw the objects as what they were to him, just objects. This section of the text explains how writers were going to a form of

He was one of the first to descriptively verbalize southern speech in writing. Not only was it uncommon for people of Twain’s era to write in vernacular, it was new-fangled for him to write about the subject of vernacular itself. It is a difficult task to write about, much less in, a dialect to which one is foreign without appearing foolish. Twain’s ability to both with ease marked him as an authority on the subject.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written in 1885, is a literary satire written by Mark Twain. The setting of the novel takes place prior to the Civil War along the Mississippi River. This novel presents moral and ethical problems that southern culture placed on individuals during the time period it was written. Twain wrote his Realist period novel to criticize what he believed was wrong with the society of his time. Twain presented his novel through the eyes and speech of the twelve year-old Huckleberry Finn to show his criticism towards this society. Although the novel has been criticized since its publication, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is still considered one of the greatest American novels ever written. Twain uses Huck

In the story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain, the use of diction provides differences upon the certain class of characters. The text consist of three characters as the narrator looks for someone known as Smiley. He comes across a man by the name of Simon Wheeler and is caught in his story of another man by the name of Smiley which provides a story within a story. As clear of a difference as black and white, the diction of the narrator is more profound and well educated than other characters is this humorous fiction piece. The differences is the use of diction is a bit extreme, providing a possible time era and a separation in educational class.

Mark Twain's story, "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," and Bret Harte's short story, “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” is both works in the Western genre and portrays culture in the West. However, both stories being similar in setting, the two stories are still very different.

    One of the most notable techniques of realism was the simplicity of its writing and dialogue. Realism usually followed the adventures and life of the common person, therefore in order to accurately portray the average man authors had to drop the fancy words and grammar of romanticism and pick up the simple dialect of daily life. Twain is best known for his ability to replicate dialogue in this way. He would usually break the rules of grammar and spelling to capture the accents of an area, as seen in his story “ The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Cavalier County”. “H'm so 'tis. Well, what's he good for… Well, I don't see no p'ints about that frog that's any

In "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", Twain displayed an extraordinarily amount of boasting.

One of the most noteworthy aspects of Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the skillful way in which Twain relates Huck’s thoughts. By telling the story from the first person point of view, Twain not only lets the reader into Huck’s mind, but he also allows Huck to characterize himself in terms of dialect—his manner of speaking, as we hear his thoughts in his own uneducated and thoroughly “countrified” voice.

Smiley has missed the point of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and has depressed the book to a fractions of its ideas. She sees the book as a failed social commentary on racism and enabling the reader to avoid responsibility. A Short sighted sentiment from Mrs. Smiley, but Mark Twain has a light directed elsewhere. He lights out the territory of social improvements by vexing the reader to view from different vantage points.

One writing that Mark Twain is not as famous for, but is still a well known piece of work for showing the use of humor in his writings is, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”. This work starts off slow without much humor until later on in the writing. The humor picks up as Twain includes bits of sarcasm to the mix. The humor in this short work is not so hidden or subtle as it may have been in some of Twain’s other writings. One example of this sort of dry humor is, “And Smiley says, sorter indifferent like, ‘It might be a parrot, or it might be a canary, may be, but it an't it's only just a frog.’” (Jumping Frog). This shows a side and type of writing that is not usually seen with Twain. Usually the humor in his writings was always sort of hidden away and harder to pick out, but in this work, it is more obvious that he is trying to make it humorous. “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” may not be as widely known as some of Twain’s other work, but it is a good example of how he includes humor into his writings to catch the reader’s attention and to provide some comic relief from, at times, tense situations.

     Twain uses his main character, Huckleberry Finn, to convey his literary style and therefore makes it important to think about this

In the Folktale “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain is about the narrator looking for a man named Jim Smiley. The narrator asked Simon Wheeler if he had heard if him, but Wheeler explained who Jim Smiley is as if were a story itself. Throughout the frame’s structure the author begins the tale in first person narrative and transition to third person to reveal the identity of Jim Smiley.

American writer, humorist, realist, and publisher, Mark Twain is one of the few writers who has left in American Literature. Twain began his writing career with light and uplifting stories, but soon became a master of casualism speech. The diction, imagery, and craft used in Twain’s stories makes him undoubtedly one of the greatest authors of all time. In the frame folktale, “ The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” Twain incorporates a theme that reveals that being overly confident and impulsive can lead to one’s demise.

.” (Twain, ix) He openly and firstly acknowledges the irregularities in this story and explains that it is not on a whim that he uses this specific type of language but with the purpose to expose the world to a new and original form of literary design. The main character in this story is Huckleberry Finn, the complete opposite of a traditional European hero; he is not the typical king or nobleman that traditional stories tell of. He is an everyday boy uneducated and seemingly unworthy, Huckleberry Finn is the epitome of a real American every day hero. Mr. Twain writes this book as a way to show that just by simply maturing and growing up so that Huckleberry Finn can make the right decisions in all aspects of his life; it makes him a noble character. “We are asked to trust this not as a sport, but rather as a well-considered and well-honed document. . . We are invited to experience and to appreciate this narrative in terms of its thought, its thoughtfulness, and its craft.” (Fertel, 159 –Free and Easy”)

In Mark Twain’s, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”, Twain is asked to find Leonidas W. Smiley by a friend. Throughout the story, Twain uses diction in order to emphasize a sense of sophistication, and an old timey country accent feel. In paragraph two, Twain narrates, “...dilapidated tavern in the ancient mining camp of Angel’s.” In order to create a sophisticated tone, Twain conveys the tavern in a way that gives the setting a more depressed and rundown impression. The sophisticated tone also helps keep the reader hooked and engrossed within the story, rather than using simple phrases. Paragraph four then begins a newer piece of diction, where wheeler says, “...but anyways, he was the curiosest man about always betting...”